Frank Iero knew how it felt when just looking at someone filled your heart with joy. He knew how just being around one girl could complete him. He knew what it felt like when one kiss could send a thousand tingles down his spine. And unlike most guys, he knew how to say, “I love you,” and mean it from the bottom of his heart. For the two years he had been dating Wilona Cranford, his heart felt almost whole. She was beautiful, she was smart, she was funny, she had an amazing sing-song voice, she knew just how to kiss...she was simply perfect. Frank could not find a single fault with her.

Wilona, however, couldn’t stop finding faults with Frank. His hair was too messy, his teeth were too crooked, his laugh annoyed the shit out of her, he was too much of a comic book dork, he wasn’t a good enough guitarist, he had too many tattoos...the list just went on and on and on. The only reason she was dating him was that she found it extremely amusing to hurt his feelings. Of course, when she did this, she used mock sweetness in her tone so that Frank would keep on believing she was a kind girl. He actually thought she loved him back, just because of some white lies she’d slipped in here and there. It was hilarious how gullible that guy was. The truth was that she actually had another boyfriend the whole entire time she was “with” Frank; a hot boyfriend who was actually worthy of her.

By the way things were going, it seemed like it would always be this way. No one dared to tell Frank the truth, or Wilona would kill them. It was a pity, really, that Frank couldn’t realize what was right before his very eyes.

Frank lay on the bed, in his room, inside his tiny apartment in Belleville, New Jersey. On this particular day, Wilona was not there. She had told him she had to go to a family breakfast meeting in Princeton. He, of course, believed her and didn’t even think that the “family meeting” was just a pretense under which she could go see her real boyfriend. He was missing her terribly although she had been gone for only an hour. Not even his favorite Beastie Boys CD could comfort him. He sighed and got up, thinking some fresh air was what he needed.

He stepped out to be greeted by the hot, humid July air. New Jersey was not a likable place during the summer. Although he felt extremely sweaty all of a sudden, he strolled down the sidewalk. The birds were chirping pleasantly, creating a peaceful atmosphere. Frank smiled to himself and closed his eyes briefly. No one else seemed to be walking around so he didn’t have the fear of bumping into somebody. He had a remarkably good sense of direction, so he reached his desired destination even without having to look. The solitary park in Belleville was a small one, yet a nice one. He could see young kids climbing on top of all the swings and slides. There were couples having picnics under the lush green trees. This saddened him a little, because it reminded him of Wilona. He stuffed his perspiring palms into his pockets and followed the paved trail around the park.

He was not paying attention to where he was going now, so it was a shock to him when he suddenly tripped over something. That something turned out to be a someone. A very angry someone.

“Hey! Watch where you’re going! You totally messed me up now! Now I have to start all over. Thanks a lot, asshole,” the someone said.

Frank pushed himself up off the ground with his hands and looked at the boy whom he fell over. His black hair hung over his glaring hazel eyes. He had been sitting in the middle of the sidewalk. His pale hands held a charcoal colored piece of chalk. An array of different colors lay strewn nearby. Frank looked down more carefully at the ground on which he was standing. There was an amazing sketch of a howling wolf under him. Well, the part of it that he had not stepped on and ruined looked amazing, anyway. He quickly jumped off the masterpiece.

“I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to mess you up...” he apologized and gazed in awe at the chalk drawing, “That’s really good, by the way.”

The boy shook the hair off of his eyes and grinned, flashing teeth almost as crooked as Frank’s, “Thanks. I’ve been working on it for the past few hours.”

Frank blinked back guiltily, “Sorry...I’m such an idiot...”

“It’s okay, I overreacted...but you crushed my only piece of gray chalk just now,” he pointed towards Frank’s black converses.

He slowly lifted up his foot, revealing gray powder, “Oh...oops...”

The boy laughed and then stared back at the sidewalk. Frank was in admiration of this boy and his astounding artwork. He folded his legs and sat down, now fully aware of the sidewalk chalk. He peered over the boy’s shoulder, watching him work. The next hour or so was extremely silent except for the rustle of squirrels scurrying around. As time passed Frank grew even more stunned. The boy had now covered a large area of the sidewalk with wolves, trees, vampires, people, squirrels, you name it.

“You are amazing, dude!” Frank exclaimed, “These are so good. You should be a professional. You could like, sell these!”

The boy turned around. His eyes twinkled proudly as he smiled, “Seriously?”

“Yeah, totally. I’d pay millions for that...well if I had millions, anyway.”

The boy suddenly moved closer. Frank’s heart pounded hard against his chest but he made no attempt to back away. There was an awkward moment during which neither of them spoke. The boy tilted his head slightly. A sudden song bursting out of Frank’s pocket interrupted whatever he was about to do. Frank quickly stood up, blushing madly, and pulled his cell phone out. It was Wilona, whom he had not even thought about for the past few hours. He silenced the phone, deciding that he would call her back later.

“That was my girlfriend,” he said to the boy, “I better head home. It was nice meeting you. We should hang out again some time. What’s your name?”